Cathexis
by HuckingHarkness
Summary: After the eighth murder in Cardiff the team are no closer to finding the killer. The key may lie in an old friend of Jack's but she can't cope with her new abilities. What skills did Jack learn as a Time Agent & can he put them to good use now?
1. Prologue

Cathexis

**Cathexis**

**Prologue**

Jack was standing outside the railway station in Cardiff when the young girl disembarked. He watched her for a moment, until as if she had sensed his eyes watching her; she glanced up; her grey eyes meeting his blue ones, for a split second. A man who had been following closely on the girls heels stopped when he saw Jack, merely shoving the girl towards where Jack was standing patiently and stepping back onto the train.

Jack smiled and stepped forward, "Captain Jack Harkness, nice to meet you, Cathexis?" The girl eyed him warily but allowed Jack to take her luggage from her gloved hands. Her luggage consisted of a single green suitcase. "The Cardiff base of Torchwood's not far from here, so we get to enjoy scenery, while walking along the waterfront." The girl just shrugged in reply and followed.

The pair moved on through the light drizzle in silence until after some mindless chatter from Jack in an attempt to get this girl to respond with more than silence he tried a more blunt approach.

"Look, we're gonna be working together. I'm your escort for this trip, and your only friend. If we're gonna get along you kinda need to talk to me." The girl scowled up at him _'I don't need a baby sitter'. _

Jack smirked before replying in the same way she had '_I know you don't, I said friend.' _A Look of surprise crossed the girl's face as she stuttered "How… you can?"

"The girl speaks!" said Jack, "I was beginning to wonder," he laughed. "You know usually I can get a girl- or even a guy for that matter talking within the first ten seconds of meeting them; or at least blushing and stuttering. I've never had to use thought projection before- and no you're not the only one who can do it, I can too; that's why we've been paired together."

"I'm not helping Torchwood, if that's what you think." Cathexis replied strongly.

"No, the plan's changed, but more about that when we get to the hub- My boss will explain." Jack replied before leaving the station.

After walking a little further Cathexis suddenly broke out, "I'm still not helping." She said, "Those people in London tried everything to try to get me to co-operate, I've got the scars to prove it, and still they couldn't get anything from me, except a couple of blown up machines."

Jack's eyes sparkled with amusement at the declaration, "Trust me- we're not like Torchwood London. We'll be taking a more hands on approach, and there won't be any 'working for the empire' unless you want to. I'm just here to help you gain some control if you want it."

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**Hey guys, please review? I'm new to all this stuff, so I'd like to hear your opinions, suggestions and crits.**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Cathexis lay down, trying desperately to get some rest before the terrible nightmares started. Her mind was currently blank, and she was concentrating hard, brow furrowed and eyes screwed shut to keep it that way. Until exhaustion from lack of sleep meant that she could no longer resist. She slipped into exhausted sleep, releasing the hold she had on her mind, the tension in her body only dissipating slightly, waiting for the dreams and horror to start.

Gwen stuck a photograph of their eighth murder victim on the clear plastic board with a sigh. The deaths were getting more and more frequent and although the team had been working on this case for weeks now, they still had no leads. They had looked at it from every angle. Owen's autopsy results revealed nothing spectacular; they only confirmed that the victims died in the same way; a single slit to the throat by some sort of laser, severing the jugular- instantly fatal. Gwen researched the victims' backgrounds, but found there was no pattern to the murders, nothing to link the victims in any way. The only possible lead Tosh had found which was keeping them all on the case was the alien technology used by the murderer to enter the houses of his victims; therefore it was a job for Torchwood. And even this clue was frail, as neither Jack nor Tosh had any idea of what could cause the energy pattern found.

_The man stepped silently out of the night. His black attire revealed nothing; from his hat drawn low over his eyes and long coat wrapped tightly around his narrow waist, to his form fitting body suit beneath. Hugging the shadows of the dimly lit alley he paused, the only sound his own heart beating faster in his chest, excitement and adrenaline from the wicked thing he was about to do surging through his veins causing his breathing to quicken. _

Cathy's breathing too increased in her restless slumber, adrenaline pulsing through her. She shook her head; eyes closed, brow furrowed uneasily tossing and turning, desperately trying to block out what she was seeing, tension coursing through her body once more; but her tired mind could no longer fight it. She knew what was coming next, could feel it, in her own body; the excitement that was not her own, adrenaline, the thrill of the chase, and then the glee afterwards. And she hated it. It made her feel sick. No matter how hard she tried, she could not block it out. The walls she erected in her mind kept shattering to pieces, the pictures and emotions too strong for her feeble defences.

_He arrived at the door of his ninth victim, in Splott and from beneath his black coat produced what looked like an ordinary mobile phone. He flipped it open and pressed it against the lock on the door and the resounding click of the lock releasing told him that, as usual, it had worked. He glanced once more around him, before slipping furtively into the house._

Tosh called Jack over to her work station when a small alarm went off. "What ya got?"

"A trace on that device; someone has been using it again, a house on Hafford Street."

"Another murder in Splott; I'll get the SUV," Ianto said morbidly, holding out Jack's coat for him as the team scrambled to get all the equipment they might need.

"Right, Tosh leave that and let's go."

_The light was on in the main room, and the occasional coloured flicker told him the television was on. The pure black eyes of the man standing in the hallway glowed in anticipation and a small flicker of red fire ignited and danced within his eyes. He stepped boldly into the view of the old man sitting there; casting his shadow across the old man's sleeping features. He jerked awake and stood up, surprise and anger showing briefly on his face, before he noticed the glowing red eyes of the man in front of him. He backed away, trembling, cowering to the floor- those eyes, they weren't human._

_The strange black and fiery eyes, tracked his every move. Whimpering in fear, he thought this was it- the end. The eyes glowed brighter until a sharp beam of red burned from them. Before the victim could do anything more the red line sliced cleanly across his throat squirting blood everywhere, killing the gasp that had barely reached the lips of the old man._

Cathy sat up gasping for air; the white hot pain that had been in her neck was replaced by a pounding in her head. She was drenched in sweat and tears, shaking violently as she tried to catch her breath; her head throbbed painfully and her vision was blurred. The sight of the old man's blood spraying out in front of her however was still a vivid picture in her mind; burnt behind her eyes; the metallic smell of blood assaulted her nostrils before gradually fading away like it always did. Shivering as tears streamed down her face, mingling with sweat, Cathy couldn't move.

Eventually her breathing calmed and she inched to the edge of the bed and stood up on shaky legs. Leaning against the stark white wall for support she made her way slowly to the small bathroom at the end of the hall. Her flat was silent, except for the quiet padding of her bare feet on the cold floor.

Washing cool water on her face Cathy immediately felt a little better. She caught her reflection, in the mirror above her. Her face was pale and gaunt, with dark patches under grey, red-rimmed eyes. For the past few weeks she's gotten barely any sleep and it was taking its toll on her usually startling features. She returned to bed, it was almost daylight; the only time she could catch any sleep these days.

The SUV slowed slightly before it screeched around a corner. Ianto was driving, which for everyone, was probably a good thing. He drove fast and efficiently, but he did not cause half as many accidents as Jack or Owen usually did. He glanced at his watch, before returning his gaze to the road ahead, "ETA twelve minutes," he said pre-empting Jack's need, before he could ask. The older man just smiled slightly.

_A black SUV with blue flashing lights screeched to a halt in front of the house of the dead old man. The police? _Cathy frowned in her fitful sleep, how could they have known? The old man didn't get a chance to shout out. _Three people got out led by a man in a long military coat. He looked vaguely familiar. He held a gun in one hand and a strange device in the other, "Jack?" she whispered. The man paused and looked around him, as if he'd heard her whisper, but was soon moving forward again, into the house. _

Cathexis jerked awake, she remembered Jack. He had taught her how to build the walls she used to block out the noise in her head, methods he said were taught to him during some form of basic psychic training long before he joined Torchwood. She had been trying to use his methods to block out the distressing images in her nightmares too but her walls did not seem strong enough- they always shattered.

When they returned to the hub Jack surveyed his weary team. They were all exhausted. "Okay- Owen, you can do the autopsy in the morning, Tosh- leave that program running just in case and go home, Gwen you too, there's nothing here that can't wait 'til tomorrow, you all need some sleep. Ianto that includes you! Now go home. I don't want any of you here until at least eleven tomorrow."

Jack turned on his heel and made his way through his darkened office down the hatch to his private quarters. It had been a long few weeks and even he admitted a rest would do him good. He hadn't shut his eyes for very long however when he felt a prickling sensation on the edge of his consciousness.

He was weary at first; until a familiar picture of an old map of Cardiff flashed into his mind. It was one of two identical maps, one of which was currently rolled up safely with a few other personal belongings of his. Knowing what was coming next he relaxed his mind and waited for the six digits of a grid reference to be sent to him.

The numbers came, fleetingly at first, like a weak pulse from a long way off, and then a little stronger until six white numbers were shining out of the dark. With it came a promise: _tomorrow 9:30. _Jack's eyes opened and rolling over he muttered the numbers aloud to himself as he dug into the drawer beside him, scrawling the numbers down.

Once she had found and made contact with Jack, Cathexis felt reassured. Her only worry was whether or not Jack had received her entire message, but she was too tired to care and quickly walked away across the Plass to her dank flat, before slipping into an exhausted, mercifully dreamless sleep.

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**Please review if you like it, (or not). Just tell me what you think, what I could do next, what you like and don't like, how I could improve etc. ;)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Alright folks, here's the next bit! Tell me if you like it and make suggestions if you like! ;)**

Chapter 2

Jack awoke the next morning to the staccato rhythm of an alarm on his wrist strap. Someone had entered the hub and judging by the fact that it was only eight thirty he guessed it must be Ianto. Trust him to arrive at exactly thirty minutes past eight. He dressed quickly and made his way up the ladder to his office.

By the time Ianto walked in with his usual mug of steaming coffee Jack was at his desk poring over the ancient map that had filled his dreams the previous night. He found the square he was looking for and pencilled in a small X, memorising the location before letting the map roll in on itself.

The coffee was placed silently on the desk in front of him, its strong aroma wafting towards Jack. He breathed in appreciatively, eyes closed, before sipping it and smiling. "Ianto" Jack called, just as the man was leaving the room; he paused and turned around, "I'm going out in a minute to meet an old friend. She contacted me last night and she needs my help. Not sure how long it'll take but if I can persuade her, I'm going to bring her back here."

"Why would she need persuading?" Ianto asked curiously.

"A while ago," Jack started, "Cathexis was brought to Torchwood with an ability to see or feel the emotions of other people. She has basic empathic abilities. When she first arrived she couldn't control it, but it was hoped that if she could learn to, then Torchwood One would be interested in using her."

Comprehension dawned on Ianto's face, before he asked, tentatively, "So- did Torchwood one use her?"

"No. Alex, my Boss at the time, didn't agree with Torchwood one's plans, so he said that if I could teach her to control her ability we'd let her go. She'd had a troubled childhood so far and just wanted an attempt at a normal life. She wasn't interested in learning to use it, only to block it out; I taught her the basics, except now it looks like she's lost control."

"What makes you say that?" Ianto queried,

"-when she contacted me last night; I'm going to meet her and try to help. While I'm away I need you to prepare some boiled water for the two of us to drink." Ianto looked mildly confused at the request but nodded before bowing out as Jack picked up his greatcoat.

Jack descended a short flight of stairs past some iron railings and paused at the entrance to the dingy pub, at the bottom, allowing his eyes to grow accustomed to the gloom. His silhouette in the doorway would probably be rather intimidating in an ordinary pub in Cardiff, but here he didn't even get a second glance. He pushed his way roughly past a thuggish bloke with tattoos on his bare, muscular arms, and ignored the advances of a leather-clad woman, whose ample bosom was thrust towards him.

Jack looked around the pub, eyes scanning the faces at tables around him, until; spotting the face he wanted he made his way slowly towards the back of the pub. Behind some heavy, dark red hanging drapes sat a very young-looking tarot reader. Her brown hair was loose, save for a faded pink ribbon which twisted into her gentle curls. She looked no older than twelve, but gave the impression of being completely at home in the smoky pub.

As she turned over her final card, her dark brown eyes flickered in his direction. The face on the card she turned over held a remarkable resemblance to the man walking towards her table. Quickly she gathered up her cards and vacated her seat opposite a pale faced girl with haunted grey eyes whose future she had been reading.

"I see you've met my friend. She's an old acquaintance of mine."

Cathy turned and smiled at the sound of the familiar voice. "Jack! It's good to see you." She replied before getting up. The older man studied her carefully, "You should've come to see me sooner, you look terrible," he said quietly, before drawing her to him and hugging her tightly; there was no trace of accusation in his voice, just concern.

Cathy smiled sadly at him as Jack placed a protective arm around her slim shoulders, leading her out of the pub. She knew he was right; she should have gone to see him long ago, before this got out of hand. He would have been able to help her block everything out.

They walked for a while and she explained her trouble sleeping. She told him how she had been trying to block it all out with what he had taught her and how every time she tried the walls just shattered into millions of pieces. They had almost completed the circuit they had been making around the block before he replied.

"Shielding out the emotions of the person next to you is a fairly simple matter," Jack explained, "it comes naturally to you. Even blocking someone from reading you mind is comparatively easy. Blocking out strong emotions or visual images is far more difficult, especially if the signals aren't human. Your own ability is what causes the walls to shatter- you're empathic, you are naturally drawn to strong emotions, even if they hurt you. In order to gain control of what you see you need to harness your ability and make it work against what you don't want; your mind alone isn't strong enough."

"Okay," Cathexis replied with a sigh, "I kinda figured I'd need to learn someday."

"That's my girl," Jack said, giving Cathy an encouraging squeeze around the shoulders. He paused, "I can try and help you, but can you come back to Torchwood? You'll be lightly shielded there automatically." Reluctantly Cathy nodded and allowed herself to be led over to the black SUV barely parked on the curb.

**More to come soon! Please let me know if you like it so far? **

**;)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Okay, just so you know, I haven't tried to have any relationships in this story, so that Gwen/Jack fans or Jack/Ianto fans can both read this. However we all know from the series' that Jack & Ianto were having sex with eachother and Jack & Gwen have kissed. I have not intentionally implied any more than that, but if you want to read between the lines and see more; then on your head be it!**

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CH 3

Once in The Hub Jack went straight up to his office with Cathexis. "I'll be back in a minute," he said before going back down to his waiting team. "Right Gwen, see if you can ID the old man from yesterday- notify any next of kin; Tosh work on a cover story with Gwen and make sure this doesn't get to the media. Owen, after the autopsy- can you arrange a heavy sedative for our guest? Cathy's gonna need some proper sleep when we're done, as she hasn't had any for a while. Ianto, can I have some of that still water in my office, please? Thanks everyone, meeting in the conference room in half an hour" Jack gave his orders. "Then I'll answer your questions," He added as Gwen opened her mouth to speak, leaving her no room for argument.

Cathexis looked up from her seat when Jack entered his office and watched him hang up his coat before settling himself close to her as he rolled up his sleeves. He sat closer than was perhaps expected of two old friends, but as usual he had his reasons. Once sitting comfortably opposite her Jack asked Cathexis, "You ready for this?" Cathy took a deep breath, nodded and held out her hands for Jack to grasp. Her fingers were cool to the touch.

The warmth from Jack's hands slowly made its way, with a barely discernable glowing, up her arms to her head before she sent it back down to Jack. Once a strong link was created between them their eyes met, his strong blue ones and her pale grey ones. They held the link in silence for a moment before Jack spoke quietly. "We'll start with some easy stuff first, I'm a little rusty here so bear with me yeah? You look at what I'm projecting and tell me what you see."

Keeping a firm hold of her hands Jack closed his eyes and concentrating, summoned a picture, he then carefully opened his eyes keeping them slightly unfocused, unseeing.

"A blue box," Cathy said quietly, concentrating, "Tardis?"

"Yes, that's it good. Answer the question," Jack put the question to the surface of his mind, and waited for Cathexis to read it, she stared into his eyes_ 'How old are you?' _

"Sixteen," she replied, after a pause.

"Good. Now emotion," this time Jack didn't need to close his eyes as the image of Ianto, asleep in the bed beside him, sunlight falling across his face surfaced, unbidden in his mind.

"Love," said Cathy, with slightly red cheeks "No, wait..."

"What? You saw that?" said Jack, his own cheeks colouring. "I was going to ask you about her," Jack said trying to concentrate on Martha Jones.

"Trust, friendship," Cathy replied promptly.

"Good, now it's your turn. I want you to communicate with me, no words."

Cathy closed her eyes and concentrated, drawing up a picture of the hub as she remembered it the first time she had visited about six years ago. It hadn't changed a great deal since then, just the people. She remembered how she had felt, wary, nervous, shy, anxious, scared, but most of all- the feeling of awe inspiring wonder at the cavernous room around her.

Jack smiled at the memory, enjoying the wonder and amazement being sent to him, until it stopped and Cathexis sent something else. _'Your... lover's, at the door,'_ she said and he felt her amusement mingling with his own, as she projected an image of Ianto standing at the door watching them a puzzled, slightly worried expression on his face, a tray with two tall glasses of water in his hands.

'_He's wondering what we're doing,'_ she told him,

'_Are you surprised? This is a little unusual, even for Torchwood' _Jack thought.

'_Don't you think we should acknowledge him?'_ Jack just smiled before opening his eyes and looking up at Ianto. _'Come in' _he said, projecting his thoughts through Cathexis to Ianto.

Ianto started in shock when he heard Jack. Spilling some of the water he held onto the tray, a look of surprise crossing his features. "Did… did you just s-say something sir?" he asked uncertainly. _'Yes' _Jack said, once more channelling his thoughts.

'_Oh. You're talking to me in my head.' _the thought reached Jack before Ianto could speak, his mouth had opened but he closed it, brow furrowed as if he had forgotten what he was about to say. Jack laughed. "Okay, let's take a break for a while." Jack said aloud, "That was good," he said, glancing at Cathy before breaking the connection. She gasped quietly.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked looking over.

"Uh, yeah, just a headache, that's all." She said, "Oh and I'm damn thirsty!" she added reaching for one of the glasses Ianto held. Jack took the other and there was silence as they both gulped down the water greedily.

Ianto raised an eyebrow at Jack as he drank from the tall glass, until he paused, "Doing the whole thought projection thing is tiring and very dehydrating," he explained. "The boiled water goes through Cathy's system faster, enabling her to recover in half the time. Now, let's go and see about that meeting in the conference room shall we? Cathy, feel free to wonder around while you recover, but stay away from the conference room for now, okay? We don't want you bombarded with the thoughts of my entire team at once." At her nod Jack got to his feet and led the way out.

The meeting had just drawn to a close when Cathexis found the board with all the victims of the past few weeks tacked to it. Each of them had been in her nightmares for the past few weeks. She stared at the faces of each victim, remembering exactly how they died, and how each of them had felt.

The young child was first, sleeping peacefully in her ground floor bedroom, her parents asleep in the attic room above her. Then there was the gothic teenager with the large number of piercings on and around his face, both were missed in one way or another.

The young woman was next; she had been an up and coming barrister, a professional with her whole life to look forward to. The deaf old lady, who hadn't been aware of the man in her room until he was slicing through her wrinkled neck, the geeky college student, who had been playing computer games late into the night, slaughtering people with a virtual sword; little did he know, but he was about to join them for real.

A student doctor studying, head phones blocking out all sound, a stroppy teenager, the list went on, the teenager had been playing heavy rock music so loudly she was completely oblivious to the fiery red eyes, until it was too late; and the most recent victim- the old man who had fallen asleep in front of his television, his grandson was supposed to visit that afternoon; all merciless slaughters of innocent people.

The images of the dead flooded her senses, sending Cathy reeling, until the overload was too much. Her head was throbbing painfully, her heart racing against her ribcage, until she thought it might burst. When the unrelenting assault on her senses became too much to bare and the pain in her head too intense she collapsed, no longer aware of the world around her, just a welcome blackness. She was oblivious to the strong arms that caught her before she bashed her head on a nearby desk as she collapsed.

Gwen stared at the unconscious figure, stunned at the effect of the photos on her. Jack had said she was sensitive to people's thoughts and emotions, but she wasn't expecting such a violent reaction at the photos; guilt traced through her, despite the fact she couldn't have known. It was like the poor girl had recognised them…

It took a while for Cathy to come round, and the pain in her head was still strong enough that when she did it was with a moan of agony. She wasn't aware of the two voices arguing above her until they stopped. "Cathy?" It was Jack, and he sounded concerned, why was he concerned? What had happened to her? Slowly her mind pieced together enough information for her to remember, and when she did it was with a gasp, her eyes flying open as she tried to sit up.

Firm arms grabbed her shoulders and gently returned her to the bed she had been lying on. "Take it easy there; you can't just recover immediately from a blackout." Cathexis didn't have the strength or the inclination to resist the stranger's orders- no not stranger, his name was Owen, he worked for Jack. As soon as she had moved the pain in her head had increased ten fold, and her vision had blurred, the room spinning dizzily around her, forcing her to stop all protest and trying to grasp at something solid.

"I'm just going to check you over, now that you're conscious." Came Owen's 'doctor's voice' it was reassuring, and eased her delicate senses which were picking up anything and everything at the moment, even the sound of Tosh tapping at the keyboard across the room.

She flinched violently and groaned, when a bright light was shone in her eyes. "Sorry" Owen said, before continuing with his tests, testing her reflexes, pulse, heart rate, blood pressure, the works. He even drew her blood, much to her discomfort. She searched for a distraction.

Cathy felt another presence in the room, "Jack?"

"I'm here," said Jack making his way over, "don't worry, you're fine, just relax for me okay?" Cathy half nodded, before the pain flaring up once more caused her to sound her agreement instead, face screwed up. "Owen, have you got a painkiller?" Jack asked.

Owen had just finished his examination and looked up at the unfamiliar tone of voice. He understood when he saw Jack indicating the sedative he had prepared earlier. He picked it up and slid it into the arm of his patient, who gasped in pain.

"Cathy, are your senses playing up?" Jack asked her quickly.

'_Yes' _the reply came in his head, before _'have you just given me a sedative?_'

"Yes, thought you needed the rest,"

'_Thank you'_ came the silent reply.

"Always welcome" said Jack quietly.

'_Can you shield me, so there's less noise in my head? The white noise, it hurts and my walls are down.'_

"I'll give it a try, while you sleep," Jack replied before Cathy drifted off.

"Did you just have a private conversation with my patient?" Owen asked accusingly.

"Yes, her head hurts, and talking aloud will make it worse. Besides, she needs the practice," Jack shrugged, before sitting in a chair beside her. "Is she physically ok?" Owen nodded before returning to the tests behind him, filing the results away neatly. As a doctor he could be very précis when he wanted to, he just usually didn't bother, hence the mess that was his work station.

"Could you go and fetch Ianto for me?" Jack asked after a pause, wanting Owen out of the room before he tried to create any sort of shield. Jack waited until Owen had ascended the stairs out of the medical bay before using his wrist strap to create a small, invisible atmospheric field around the two of them and grasping Cathy's cold hands once more, in his own warm ones.

This time, because Cathexis wasn't helping, Jack took a long time to create the link between himself and Cathy. He had to force the energy up her arm, and on its return journey Jack felt like he was stealing from Cathexis when he took some of her empathic energy to boost the link he was creating. He knew he had to do it, in order for his shield to work, but that didn't make it any easier. He concentrated on the job at hand, refusing to feel guilty.

Ianto stopped at the stairs to the med bay. He glanced at Jack silently and when he realised what he was doing, he went to pour some more boiled water. He would return with the glass and then he could see what else Jack wanted.

Now for the hard part, Jack thought to himself, eyes closed, before conjuring an invisible wall to encircle himself and gradually extending it's radius to include Cathy's sleeping form in front of him. He was strengthening the inside layers using the energy and some pre-prepared memories from Cathexis when he felt Ianto moving towards him.

Ianto stopped suddenly. He wasn't sure what it was, but he could feel something in the air around him. It was like the air was electrically charged, making the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end. Cautiously he moved towards where he knew Jack was sitting in the med bay. What he saw made him gasp.

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**I figured Jack's probably been taught some of this stuff while working for the time agency. And besides, if he's 'done it' with a _lot_ of aliens, he's bound to have come across one or two who communicate through thought projection, or have telepathic abilities right? So I figured he could help out a friend in need. Review and tell me what you think?**


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Surrounding Jack and large enough to include Cathexis was a large, transparent bubble. It was perfectly round with pale translucent colours catching the light as it pulsed around the two motionless figures. The bubble seemed to be charging the air around it, emitting an almost tangible charge, which explained the odd sensation Ianto had felt.

For a moment he just stood there, staring at the bubble surrounding Jack, who seemed completely unaware of the young man watching him on the outskirts of the room, or if he was, he gave him no acknowledgement.

The shield Jack had created was now strong enough to block out most sensory input, he guessed that Ianto was probably in the room watching him, but he could no longer feel his presence there like he had before, during his link-up with Cathexis. For a moment he longed to feel him again, and the shield weakened. Jack concentrated once more on what he was doing; sex with Ianto was _not_ for work hours. Instead he should be filling the bubble he had created with a few of his own happy memories, as well as ones unwittingly supplied by Cathexis.

"Ianto! You perv…" the words died on Owen's lips, mid sentence, "What the hell?" he said as he stumbled into the med bay, almost walking into the strange bubble. Jack felt something pushing at his outer shield. He sensed it wasn't dangerous, as the disturbance was a feeble one, so he allowed whatever it was to break through the thin outer layers, before gradually working towards dropping the entire shield, layer by layer. The bubble faltered visibly in front of Owen and a few of the outside layers fizzed, before disintegrating with a ripping sound.

Ianto watched as the layers of the bubble-shield slowly dissipated, leaving with a slight static sound. When there was just one thin layer left surrounding him, Jack broke the connection with Cathy, allowing the last remnants of the bubble to pop loudly in the quiet room.

What he didn't anticipate was the sudden head rush he got as it burst and the sudden influx of sensory information his brain had been denied within the shield. He gasped, feeling sick and dizzy. He ducked his head between his knees panting for air which had left his lungs in a rush just moments before.

Owen rushed over muttering various profanities under his breath as he tried to check on Jack, who pulled away. He hated being fussed over, it wasn't as if he could die. "Just sit still will you? I'm only checking you for your own sake." Ianto on the other hand silently stepped towards him and handed Jack the glass of water he held. Jack took it gratefully with a small smile before downing the entire glass in seconds.

"Owen, will you check on your real patient? I'm fine!" Jack growled, pushing Owen away from him and towards Cathy's prone form. "I need to know if that sedative is working to block out her dreams. No thoughts at all, she won't sleep otherwise."

"I'll go and get some more water, and a face cloth," Ianto said. "You're sweating," he said simply, in reply to Jack's raised eyebrow at his later statement; before leaving the room.

Jack raised a hand to his brow. He hadn't realised how much the shield would take out of him, he was indeed sweating from the exertion. "You see? Not fine are we Jack?" said Owen sarcastically, still checking all of Cathy's vitals. He had decided to rig up a machine to monitor the state of her brain, so he would know when she woke up, and when her brain started functioning fully.

He connected pads to Cathexis' temple, connecting her to one of his medical computers, all the while explaining to Jack what he was doing. Owen hoped that by keeping Jack busy he would just sit there and watch, giving himself time to recover. Jack might refuse to acknowledge it, but he was human, and from what Ianto had said earlier Owen knew that what Jack was doing would tire him out.

Jack _was_ tired, but he had promised Cathexis to try to help her, which included protecting her; and so as soon as he thought he had recovered sufficiently, helped by Ianto's constant supply of water, he would send Owen and Ianto out the room, forbidding them or anyone else from returning until the sedative wore off Cathy. The last thing he wanted was distractions from other team members; they would just make his job harder than it already was. Besides, with the strength of the sheild he was about to create, it would be dangerous for any of the team to come near him without protecting their minds.

As soon as Owen's machine was connected and displaying Cathy's brain waves at a satisfactory low level Jack tried to send Ianto and Owen out of the room. "Nu uh big boy," Owen said, standing his ground, arms crossed, "Not 'till you tell us exactly what the hell you were just doing; and in the mean time I get to run basic checks on you- no arguments!"

Jack sighed, the sooner he could get rid of them, the sooner he could protect Cathy, and that was what was important. "Okay fine! But hurry up- leaving Cathy the way she is, is dangerous for her and for the rest of the team- don't be surprised if you all end up with headaches before I'm done."

"I'll get the pain killers ready," Ianto said, walking towards the general medicine cupboard, while keeping half an ear on the conversation between Owen and Jack.

Owen moved forwards, quickly checking Jack over while prompting him to explain further. "Cathy's very powerful and at the moment and she has no internal shields up. That's what I was doing- shielding her. Usually, even when she's asleep, Cathy has a basic shield up, protecting herself from the thoughts of those around her and visa versa. She is constantly absorbing and emitting thoughts and emotions. They are an integral part of her being. For a normal person to experience what she does- that's like an information overload for your brain."

"So- is she an alien?" Owen asked.

"No, her great grandmother was, she just inherited this... ability."

"Then why is she here?" Ianto asked

"Someone has been interrupting her sleep lately, smashing her shields. I believe it is our alien murderer, but either way, her shields are not working. She has to stay awake to keep them up. Creating a shield myself allows her to rest. Then later I'll work with her to strengthen her own shields. I also want to find out what else she can do- It's possible that she can help us catch our murderer," He finished.

"So you're protecting her while she catches up on some shut-eye. Right, well in that case we'll leave you to it- you've recovered sufficiently from earlier;" with that the two men left the room and Jack erected his shield once more.

This time Jack had more control and he limited the energy he was using so that he could maintain it for longer this time, he soon had a steady shield around himself and Cathy, blocking out everything and lulling him into a silent, emotionless stupor. The shield wasn't as spectacular as the first, just a murky grey bubble filled with a delicate, swirling white mist, but he limited the energy, to add colour and maintain a strong shield for an indefinite length of time would take more out of him and this had to last a while.

Tosh, Gwen, and Owen were all crowded around one of Tosh's computer screens which was displaying a live feed of the CCTV in the medical Bay. All three were staring at Jack who had his eyes closed, not moving a muscle. He had been like this for the past forty minutes now.

Gwen was getting apprehensive; Jack had forbidden them from entering the room but Jack hadn't moved. It wasn't natural for someone to stay still for so long; however whenever she tried to sneak over there Owen of Ianto told her off. She would wait another ten minutes she decided.

The murky white mist that swam around Jack and Cathy, encircled in the grey bubble was mesmerising to watch; so much so that none of the trio noticed Ianto walk up until he spoke. "Coffee anyone?" all three members of Torchwood jumped before turning to grasp their prospective cups. There were murmured thanks for all of them; Owen's sounding more like a grunt. "How long since he last moved?" He asked the girls. They both shrugged and lapsed into silence.

"How long will the sedative you gave Cathexis last?" Gwen asked Owen, breaking the mesmerised silence.

"Honestly, no idea. Jack said he wanted a really strong one to knock her out completely, but he also said that it would take a stronger dose than most humans to have any effect. Not to mention the fact that her metabolism is faster than average. At a gues-stimate, -and that's a scientific term by the way, I'd say not long now."

Jack was brought out of his reverie by the now familiar prickling sensation on the surface of his mind. Cathexis was stirring, her mind slowly starting to function and unintentionally drawing on the link between herself and Jack. Jack tried to limit what her fuzzy mind could access and hoped she would wake soon. She wasn't quite aware of what she was doing, but Cathy had started to dream and Jack, who was still shielding her, was also exposed to her dreams, they filled his head, distracting him from the shield around them.

The other four members of Torchwood continued to watch as eventually Cathexis stirred. She was not awake yet, but according to the monitor on Owen's computer beside them she was now dreaming. The white mist had increased slightly and began to swirl faster within the protective barrier, gradually growing thicker within its protective bubble.

As Cathy continued to dream, and her thoughts mingled with Jack's he was forced to lower his defences and the shield faltered, the swirling mist grew thicker, but the grey bubble holding it in was much thinner. The shield was no longer effective over any significant distance and was just filled with Cathy's happy or strong memories as a defence.

The team watched with horrific fascination as Jack's shield finally fell with a loud ripping sound and the mist surrounding them swirled thickly, obscuring their view.

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**Please Review people if you're reding this? Cheers! ;)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Gwen rushed towards the autopsy bay, oblivious to Owen's shouted warning. She needed to see that Jack was alright. She sidestepped Ianto as he made to grab hold of her wrist, ignoring the desperation and tint of fear in his voice as he shouted to her, "Gwen wait! You can't go in there…!"

"I have to see Jack! Make sure he's okay…" Once she reached the top of the autopsy stairs she hesitated just a second before plunging into the thickly swirling white mist. As soon as she was in it she gasped. The smoke was oppressive… but it was making Gwen feel warm and happy, deliriously happy. Gwen stopped, gazing around her, the room shifted, her vision blurring, until she was no longer in the medical bay. Before the haze cleared she heard laughter…

Owen swore loudly. Gwen was currently lying on the autopsy floor, smiling. Ianto had managed to discourage Tosh from joining her, but the three of them now felt completely useless. 'Come on Jack, wake up!' Ianto willed silently starring at the murky CCTV. "If I switch it to thermal we'll see better," Tosh said tapping a few strokes at her computer. Owen joined the pair at the screen, still swearing profusely.

Jack never gave them an order without meaning it and this time Owen was sure there would be consequences none of them would like. Why couldn't Gwen have just listened? Now fuck knows what the hell would happen to her and it would be her own fault! But he'd have to sort her out if she needed medical attention, and it wasn't helping that he could do nothing for her now. Admittedly, she _did _look happy enough at the moment, which could be a good sign.

Gwen smiled, letting the feeling of happiness fill her. "Gray!" a voice laughed, the picture cleared and Gwen found herself on a sandy beach. Two children were playing a ball game with their father; the older of the two boys had an American accent when he spoke. "I'll get it" he yelled, before running over the crest of a sand dune after the ball.

Jack and Cathy were both asleep and dreaming, waves of happy emotions surrounding them; but these were moving away from their slumped figures, towards the watching team, clearing the mist in the medical bay as they stood watching the CCTV. Jack's brow was furrowed while Cathexis still looked relaxed and oblivious- still under the influence of the drugs Owen had administered no doubt.

Ianto stared at Jack's troubled face, whatever he was dreaming about, it wasn't a happy dream, but in comparison to some nights when he dreamed, at least it wasn't too disturbing by Jack standards.

Cathexis was dreaming of walking down a darkened alley. She was aware of Jack who seemed to be walking silently along beside her, but aside from that the alley was deserted and quiet. The situation felt vaguely familiar to Cathy, as if she had been here before, or in another alley at night… it niggled at the back of her mind, but in her current state Cathy was incapable of working out why it was so familiar.

The scene shifted and Gwen found herself in the hub, coming down the lift. The 'Tourist's Entrance' as Jack had affectionately called it. She was amazed at seeing the hub for the first time, overwhelmed by the sheer size of the cavernous room surrounding her, awed. Her vision blurred…

This time she recognised the sound of Jack's laughter, before the room cleared. She wasn't sure where she was. The large circular room she was in seemed alive to her. Three voices interrupted her, they were so happy, a team. Three of them, she turned and was shocked to see a much younger Jack, dressed in blue jeans and a T-shirt to match his eyes, exchanging high fives with a blonde woman, and a tall man wearing a leather jacket and a head-torch.

Before Gwen could react the room shifted once more and she found herself in space, surrounded by stars; she was whizzing past them at a terrific speed. The view was breath taking and beautiful. The scene shifted faster this time, taking longer to clear and leaving her dizzy.

It was Jack. He was dressed in tails and stood opposite a beautiful woman; she was wearing a wedding dress and Gwen just had time to register that they were in a church before she was roughly pulled from that outlook. She found herself in the white mist, it spinning and swirling faster and faster around her making her feel sick. She was thrown backwards and gasping for air she looked up.

Cathexis and Jack, standing side by side, happily watching the sun rise in contented silence, his arm around her shoulders; Gwen and Jack had done the same thing from this exact spot when Jack had first offered her a job at Torchwood. She stumbled, vision blurring; only this time the scene did not clear in front of her. The oppressive mist held her where she was, spinning her very fast and making her feel more and more ill. She could no longer feel the ground beneath her feet and her head spun crazily, leaving her disorientated and confused. She felt trapped, stuck. Was this what claustrophobia felt like?

The large face of Big Ben came flying towards her, before she halted and realised that she had been moving, not the clock. She was right up close to it, above a darkened London. It faded. She was up in Jack's office; it was different to how it looked now, more like a boss's office should be. Clean and new, and it held an air of crisp authority. Her vision swam once more and she found herself back in the mist.

Just as she could no longer stand the sick feeling in her stomach and the dizzy spinning in her head her vision blurred, going grey before eventually everything went black and she slipped into unconsciousness.

"Cathy- where are we going?" Jack enquired; this alley was similar to where they had found their last victim attacked. When Cathy didn't reply, Jack glanced over at Cathy- he became worried when she seemed to be spaced, in a daze and didn't reply. Jack became even more worried, he didn't like the looks of this.

Jack continued to try and catch Cathy's attention; all the while the young woman continued her progress down the darkened alley. She speeded up, before turning abruptly into the front yard of a dilapidated house.

Jack knew what was coming and tried frantically to stop his friend, "Cathy!" Jack cried again, louder than before- his voice was tinged with anxiety. When still there was no response Jack shook Cathy, by the shoulder. She flinched violently at his touch. "Cathy! I know you can hear me, now just concentrate and look at me!"

Ianto stared at the CCTV; he could hear Jack muttering indistinctly in his sleep, but the only word he could recognize was "Cathy", it sounded anxious. He moved towards the railing, where the mist was gradually clearing; Jack's rest seemed to become more and more restless, with his face drawn in anguish. Ianto was worried.

It took a while before Jack got a response, by which time they had entered the small terrace by the front door which swung open, seemingly of its own accord. Cathy seemed to shake herself and turned her face towards him. "Help me!" she whispered.

As soon as the mist had cleared completely Owen dashed into the autopsy bay and gripping Gwen above the elbows, dragged her to safety. He laid her gently on the hub floor and proceeded to check her over. He was relieved to find her breathing steady and her pulse strong. "Just unconscious then," he muttered to himself.

At that moment the alarm Tosh had set earlier went off, alerting them of another murder about to be committed. Tosh, Owen and looked at one another- what should they do?

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**(BTW 'speeded' is actually grammatically correct, 'sped' is not found in the dictionary!)**

**Thank you to all of you who are reading this! I hope more of you can find the time to review!**


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Hey guys, this chapter seems to revolve entirely around Cathexis and Jack- but do not fear! The rest of the team will play a bigger role in the next chapter! I promise.**

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**Chapter 6**

Jack looked Cathy in the eye, arms resting firmly on her slender shoulders; his was face deadly serious as he spoke, "I'm trying to help you Cathy, but you need to really concentrate for me, this is going to be one of the hardest things you've ever done and it's probably gonna hurt. I'm sorry- but can you do that for me?"

Cathy's eyes started to glaze over again, but before she slipped away Jack shook her roughly, "Cathy! I need you to stay with me girl. Can you do this?"

"I… I'll try Jack, what do I need to do?"

"Firstly, do you know where we are?"

"Uh, we're in an alley in Cardiff and it's just started to rain- was that supposed to be a trick question?"

"No and no. Cathy we're in the Hub right now, the medical bay, Remember?" At this Jack placed his fingers to her temples and sent her an image of the hub as it was right now, the two of them in the medical bay and Ianto Jones standing at the rails. The Captain was surprised to see that the murky white mist had cleared completely and even more surprised when he felt rather than saw, how worried Ianto was- the young man had to be 'shouting' for himself to be heard _this_ clearly.

Jack endeavoured to sort out this mess as quickly as possible and then reassure the man. As a temporary compromise however he decided to send Ianto some reassurance through this strange connexion they had, he could take away his worry.

Jack tried to send comfort and reassurance to Ianto but was astounded to find that the man had very powerful mental barriers. Jack hadn't even known he could do that, let alone barriers strong enough to block out the advances of a 51st century Time Agent!

Realising he could do nothing for him at the moment, Jack focused his attention back on Cathexis- who was no longer standing in front of him just inside the doorway. "Cathy?" He walked into the main room and stopped. When he saw what was in front of him, words failed Jack. Cathy was standing in the middle of the carpeted floor, her eyes glowing like red fire, her expression murderous; right in front of a gentleman who had been reading the paper, but was now pressing himself into the back of his chair in an effort to get as far away from the creature in front of him as possible.

"Cathy, Stop!"

Jack knew what was about to happen, knew what kind of creature they were dealing with and knew what he needed to do to stop it. Cathy looked like an Atama'co Igntiacus and he needed to stop her. He just wasn't sure if he _could_. He edged cafefully into the room, keeping his eyes fixed on Cathy. He only spoke once he had her attention.

"Right Cathy, I want you to close your eyes for me and we're going to create a bubble shield from water. It works the same way as your mental shields, except this one needs to be big enough to surround you completely."

"Okay, but where do I get the water from?"

"Don't worry, it'll come, just think about a place you've been to where there was a lot of water, like a swimming pool or Cardiff bay. Have you got that? ...Can you picture it in your mind?"

"Yes!" She gasped, her eyes moving from beneath closed lids.

"Now picture that water, making a bubble around you standing in this room."

Cathexis tried to create the bubble, summing up all her mental energy. Unfortunately it was nowhere near big enough. "Jack I can't do it! Some thing's... blocking me."

"I know kid, but you've got to fight it. You're doing a great job, just keep concentrating- fight it come on, you can do it."

"I am!" Cathy moaned, "but it hurts. Jack it hurts so much. My head, please don't make me do this!" Cathy's entire world was a blur of white hot pain. It was consuming her, radiating from her head and piercing her whole body. She could barely breathe for pain and everytime she did as Jack asked, creating another layer in her bubble another jolt of pain infused through her skull. "I know it hurts Cath, but this is the only way. You are the only one who can do this." Jack hated seeing her in so much pain; he did the only thing he could to help- he shared her pain.

_A problem shared is a problem halved_

Jack stepped behind her, avoiding the red eyes and putting his arms round her body he grasped her fingers; instantly he could feel her pain, but he gritted his teeth against it. "I'm gonna help you make it bigger if I can and strengthen the walls a little; you've done a great job so far, keep it up. I can help you, but I'm gonna need to step outta the circle and leave you to hold it up yourself, while I speak to my team. But I need to make sure that neither you nor this creature moves until I get back."

The two of them worked together in silence, Jack taking Cathy's pain; Cathy creating the bubble, allowing Jack to expand it and gradually making the walls thicker around the pair of them. Only when the bubble reached a big enough size Jack spoke. "Cathexis, I'm going to leave you now-"

"No, please Jack don't leave me! I can't do this on my own."

"You won't be on your own, I'll still be right next to you; and I've got to go so we can get to the bottom of all this. I'm just going to get Tosh and Gwen to stop our murderer and force him to leave your mind alone. By creating the water barrier you are stopping him from committing murder, since they really _hate_ water. Can you do this?"

Cathy met his eyes for the first time and Jack was relieved to see that there was barely a glow in them now. "Okay, but please hurry; I don't know how much longer I can hold this barrier…" Jack fought to wake up, breaking the connection between himself and Cathexis, until the medical bay swam into view. He lifted his gaze to where he knew Ianto would still be standing.

"Jack!" Ianto raced down the steps towards him and hearing his cry Tosh and Owen joined him.

"'bout time!" grumbled Owen, "everything's gone to shit 'ere, while you've been away with the fairies."

"All of you- shut up!" Jack bellowed, when they all started talking at once, "We haven't got long to do this and Cathy needs me ASAP. Right, Owen- where's Gwen?"

"She passed out when she walked into the white fluffy stuff. She's unconscious but stable- should come round any minute."

"Right, well that means Ianto and Tosh, you're gonna have to go after our alien friend. The alarm Tosh set up went off a short while ago, yes?" They looked puzzled, he couldn't have heard the alarm could he? "Yes?"he prompted. When they all nodded he continued, "Right, well Cathy's holding our alien frozen to the spot for now; hopefully until you can get there, but no guarantees. She's not going to be able to hold on forever so Ianto, Tosh go now- you're dealing with an Atama'co Igntiacus." The pair frowned, it sounded like an entirely different language, and Jack spoke it without his usual American accent, instead his voice was a low rumbling growl. He continued, ignoring them, "It doesn't like water and you need you need to beware of it's eyes, so approach it from behind and take a water pistol as well as your guns- if the eyes are red or glowing, spray 'em and duck. Now Go! And Be Careful." They moved out of the medical bay and Jack turned to Owen.

"Owen, I've gotta go back to help Cathy. As soon as Ianto and Tosh do anything to the alien Cathexis will feel it, so we're both gonna need your industrial strength painkillers and Cathy is probably going to collapse from exhaustion soon. You're the doctor; I'm relying on you to do what you can to help her; if she's conscious, boiled water only," Owen nodded. "However, don't break the connection between us until Ianto gets back. Then I want you to get him in here to shield Cathexis. If Gwen comes round and is fit for field work, send her to help Tosh, so Ianto can get back sooner. Once he's here get him right next to me and I'll be able to tell him what to do. You got all that Owen?"

"Yeah. Now get back to savin' the fairies."

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**I am trying to wrap this up 'coz I think it's going down hill in a hurry, so thanks again for reading and reviews are much appreciated! ;) Um, anything else just let me know.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Okay, here is the next bit, no Jack or Cathy, let me know what you think. (i.e. Review! lol)**

**Chapter 7**

Ianto and Tosh were in the SUV, speeding towards their destination. Tosh was in the back seat feeding co-ordinates from her computer to Ianto who was driving. "Ianto, I looked up those creatures, the Atama'co Igntiacus, it seems Jack forgot to mention that their skin is poisonous to touch- according to the files on the creature, touching it causes a 'scalding rash' to spread from the point of contact across the skin, until the entire body is covered with first degree burns!" Ianto whistled through his teeth, reiterated Jacks earlier warning, before concentrating back on the road ahead.

Ianto screeched to a halt pulling the big black car into a parallel parking space ensuring he did not mount the curb. He jumped out quickly and opening Tosh's door he used the cover of the door to check and cock his weapon, waiting for Tosh to finish on the computer and do the same. When they were both ready they made their way towards the house, which looked inconspicuous in the row of houses; only as they neared did they realise that the door was open a couple of inches.

Tosh nodded and they burst into the house, each covering the other in a familiar routine; Ianto leading the way into the main room on the left of the hall, where a quiet whimpering could be heard. Tosh followed, glancing at a hand held computer, showing a spike in energy readings.

The room they entered was fairly large, but it was wider than it was long. To Ianto's right was a dining area, set out with a table and eight chairs; to the right of the door where Ianto stood, two sofas rested, facing a television set which sat innocuously in the far corner. The whimpering was coming from a middle aged man crouching on an ancient armchair in the other corner, also facing the television. The man cowered in fear, while a newspaper he had clearly been reading lay strewn across the floor, the sheets no longer in any order.

Ianto briefly took all this in before allowing his eyes to finally rest on the most fascinating, most dangerous thing in the room: their alien- the Atama'co Igntiacus. It was of humanoid shape, although perhaps a little on the tall side and it was rake thin. The Atama'co Igntiacus was dressed in a fitted, all encompassing body suit; his narrow hips stuck out beneath the grey/black fabric of the suit, his wide pale belt accentuating what little waist the creature possessed. It seemed he held little or no flesh on his body at all and his eyes were fixed on what was about to become his second victim in as many days. Tosh looked at him, taking in his appearance from the bottom up, before gasping when her eyes reached the face. She had barely taken in the appearance of the alien figure, until she saw it's eyes. They were so alien, flickering with a red fire, which seemed to dance inside the centre of the black orbs.

"Tosh… Remember what Jack said about the eyes?" asked Ianto, a hint of warning in his deep voice. At her nod, they both moved to stand further back from the creature, inching around the back of it. The creature wasn't looking their way, but instead had a fixed gaze on the cowering man in the corner. It started to move slowly forward.

"Didn't Jack say that his friend had it 'frozen to the spot'?" Tosh enquired.

"Obviously not for long enough, although considering the detour we had to take around that accident, I'm not surprised. It took us quite a while to get here and shields aren't the easiest of things to maintain at the best of times. Jack wasn't talking about a mental shield to stop this thing either; I'm sure creating a physical barrier would be much more difficult."

"When did you become so knowledgeable?"

"I know everything. And I learnt about them from the archives after the Mary incident."

"Oh."

"Sorry" Ianto replied.

"Don't worry about it, lets just make sure this thing doeasn't kill anyone. You watch it's right eye and I'll watch the left from here."

"Sounds like a plan for now. If it glows, we fire yeah."

"Agreed, I just wish Jack would hurry up and freeze this thing again." Said Tosh, raising a water pistol.

Gwen rolled over. She was lying on some metal grating of some sort; it took her a minute to work out that it was the floor of the hub. Then she remembered- she must have fainted, if her headache was anything to go by. Groaning she sat up as Owen made his way over. Briskly he checked her over, before declaring "You'll live," and making his way over to one of the computers. He knew Gwen would follow when she felt well enough.

"What's goin' on?" –He was right and she hadn't taken too long to recover, which meant she would be okay to go out into the field, since Jack really needed his full team. "We've traced our murderer, but its no simple task to bring 'im in. You need to go and relieve Ianto, who is needed back at the hub; the address has been sent to your sat. nav. Get there and tell Ianto to get his ass back 'ere yesterday. Got it?"

"Yeah, but what am I dealing with?"

"Can't remember the name of it… it's a creature a bit like a basilisk- don't look at its eyes and spray 'em with water if they glow red, you've gotta go catch it with Tosh and bring it in, easy."

"Sounds like it." Gwen touched her ear piece before frowning and turning to Owen, "Why aren't the coms working?"

"Summat to do with the alien I think."

"Right I'll be off then," said Gwen, grabbing the keys to her blue Renault and taking the lift up to the Plass.

xxx

When she arrived Gwen quickly made her way cautiously into the house, gun drawn. Methodically checking each room, Gwen soon found Tosh and Ianto standing in the centre of the room. What she saw would be almost commical in any normal situation. Ianto and Tosh stood, guns drawn, but pointing to the ground and water pistols raised in their other hands, as they watched the creature. Which was completely ignoring the comotion behind it, as if it wasn't even aware of their presence.

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**Hey guys, just to let you all know, the chapter update for the next bit is gonna take a while... my entire internet has crashed at home, so you're all gonna have to wait a while! I can't even check my email... Stupid AOL. Grrr. I will be back to finish this as soon as, just be patient yeah? ;)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Ok, so Carrie is still suffering from major mental block **with this, but has decided to post what she _has _written, in the hopes that the rest will write itself- Haha If you can help with this… argh I detest the word: _Writer's Block _let me know.

It's not writer's Block exactly, because I've written a lot of other stuff, with no hassle, it's just… lack of a complete story arc really.

**Ok, quick recap…**

_When she arrived Gwen quickly made her way cautiously into the house, gun drawn. Methodically checking each room, Gwen soon found Tosh and Ianto standing in the centre of the main room. What she saw would be almost comical in any normal situation. Ianto and Tosh stood, guns drawn, but pointing to the ground and water pistols raised in their other hands, as they watched the creature; which was completely ignoring the commotion behind it, as if it wasn't even aware of their presence._

**And now on with the show! **

**Chapter 8**

"Err… Ianto?" said Gwen quietly from where she stood on the threshold of the room. The young man didn't look round, but inclined his head to indicate he was listening, before focusing back on the humanoid creature in front of him.

Gwen took this as encouragement to continue. "Um… Jack needs you back at the Hub; ASAP apparently. I've been sent to take over here. You can take my car if you like."

"I thought Jack was with Cathexis?"

"He was- Owen told me."

"Right, well here's the water pistol, if in doubt shoot. Tosh you okay there?"

"I'm fine;" And with that Ianto left, leaving the water pistol to Gwen, who took vigil in his place.

Ianto took off in the SUV, blue lights flashing, and a gadget which changed all the traffic lights to green as he approached switched on. Although they had it, Jack rarely used it, preferring to simply honk the horn loudly and go barrelling through the red lights. He did it on stop streets too. How they all survived, he didn't know; at least this way cars had more warning.

When he reached the hub, Ianto found Owen at Tosh's workstation, heart monitors and brain activity scans flowing across the screen. Owen looked up from the many screens, as the cog door rolled back.

"Teaboy, you got here. Jack wants you in the autopsy bay now. Something 'bout shielding Cathy. You're to go in there and Jack said he'd tell you what to do."

"Is he awake then?"

"Well, he's conscious, and not asleep, but I dunno if 'awake' is the right word to describe it. Just um, call him I guess." Ianto made his way down the stone steps to the medical bay, where Cathy lay, eyes closed with Jack sitting beside her, his hands joined with hers. "Jack?" he spoke quietly, but a little louder when he got no response. This time when he spoke, he thought he heard Jack moan, before turning his head.

_Ianto?_

Ianto jumped. It was Jack and he was in his head again. It was a peculiar prickling feeling.

_Come closer. Give me your hand. _

And with that Jack released one of Cathy's hands, turned round and blindly felt around him, in search of Ianto's hand. When Ianto met it, he immediately gasped at the warm energy that flew up his arm, leaving him tingling all over.

_What…?_

_Don't worry, its just to help you. Earlier, you had a shield up- yes?_

_I had a headache- it seemed to help._

_That's because it did. You were blocking out Cathy's invasive personality; she doesn't mean to hurt people, she's just a little weak at the moment so her shields are down. _

_I… I heard that and I'm not weak! _It was Cathy's voice this time, which was inside his head too. It sounded very frail and far off to Ianto, sort of, tiny. _I'm just tired. _Jack ignored her, speaking to Ianto.

_Can you create it again, but include Cathy within the shield? _Jack's voice spoke in his head again.

_I think so. But how do I do it?_

_Create the shield round yourself, and then drop your personal walls, so that it expands._

_Drop my personal walls? _Ianto sounded dubious, and Jack was sure he could hear his raised eyebrow.

_I'm sorry, but it's the only way I know how._

Ianto took a deep breath and braced himself, _Okay, I'm ready_ he said, already building his shield. It didn't take long, the energy he could feel through Jack's hand helped a lot and Ianto was sure the Captain was also helping him. He soon had a strong shield surrounding himself, though this time the connection through to Jack, seemed to hold it open gently. It looked to him like a golden thread leading from himself through the shield to Jack.

_You ready for this? We'll do it slowly; because if you've never done it before it can be uncomfortable. I'll try to control the flow from here- if I can._

Ianto began to lower his personal walls in as controlled a way as possible, but when they were about half way, they seemed to shake before shattering. Jack, who was very impressed by Ianto's control so far, was ready mentally and physically when Ianto's control faltered.

He was prepared for the sudden influx of emotions, and he also managed to catch Ianto, before the young man fell to his knees, instead lowering him gently to the ground.

Xxx

**Phew**, it's done. I've finally posted. Now I'll tell the brain to start the creative juices going, because this really needs to be finished! I'll feel so much better afterwards, I know I will.

Thanks for your unswerving patience, & although I hardly deserve it- Please Review if you will?

Carrie ; )

2008


	10. Chapter 9

Cathexis

**Chapter 9**

Ianto's head throbbed painfully as he felt the strange, golden connection between himself and Cathexis build. It felt like he was sharing a piece of himself with the girl, his memories and emotions, but not willingly or intentionally. He couldn't control what she was getting, and for him, that was particularly frustrating. But Ianto could also feel that Cathexis was a much stronger presence beside him, so he told himself he did not mind the invasion ad allowed it to happen, trying not to fight it.

"_Cathy?"_

It was Jack, and although it was in Ianto's head too, he knew that that was just a side effect of the strange connection between himself, Jack and Cathy. _"Yes Jack?"_ Ianto was encouraged to hear that her voice was much stronger now, less tiny and less vacant-sounding than it had been. _"We need to sever the connection you have with the Atama'co Igntiacus"_

_"Is that what it's called?"_

_"Yes."_ Jack continued as if she hadn't spoken,_ "...but as we sever the connection, it's gonna be even more determined to hold on- like a second nature. These creatures aren't too nice to people- But that's where Tosh and Gwen can help us..."_

Back at the house Gwen watched in trepidation as gradually the eyes of the Atama'co Igntiacus started to glow a fiery red, the once flickering flame within them flaring up and burning brightly. The creature no longer looked human, a picture which was further alienated by the simmering lines, rising from it in visible heat waves. Despite all their experience of aliens, the two women found the creature very intimidating in its new state and both of them gripped their weapons more firmly, preparing to fire if they had to.

Jack and Ianto tried their best to protect Cathy, working together to create a strong enough shield. The matter was made more difficult by the fact that Cathexis was still, inexorably connected to the creature standing, in a foreign living room several miles away. Still, the pair of them began to force the creature to retreat from Cathy's mind, shutting doors in its face each time it tried to access a part of Cathy's mind and energy, as the girl herself slowly shrank the water shield she had created, leaving nowhere for the creature to escape. It was tiring work for all of them, but for Ianto who had never done anything like this before, it was especially exhausting, but it was still very satisfying when he constantly slammed doors in the creature's face. At one particularly difficult door, which Jack had helped Ianto to build, it took all the strength the two of them could muster to close. Eventually, it closed with a resounding bang and they breathed a relieved sigh, before bracing themselves and preparing for the after effects of forcing the creature into as small a space as they had managed between them.

With a feral roar the creature swung round to face Tosh and Gwen, who had been anxiously watching as the thing seemed to be in a silent struggle with itself, cowering slightly in the strangely shrinking bubble of water. Both women glanced quickly at one another, before with a firm nod from Gwen, they simultaneously fired their water pistols directly at the creatures terrifying, smouldering red orbs. The creature collapsed to its knees with a screeching howl of pain, arms covering it's eyes, both Gwen and Tosh felt the screech keenly.

At the same time, back at the Hub, Cathy burst into screams, her body writhing in a burning agony. Her head felt like it was on fire and the backs of her eyes burned a blinding golden-yellow. The tears streaming from them did nothing to ease the constant, searing pain and fire. Ianto could feel her pain too, though it was muffled considerably through Jack, who was in the middle of the chain. He suspected Jack was working to hold it back, absorbing it himself instead, because Ianto could only feel a constant, dull ache coming from both of them, but even that hurt his head; so he was silently grateful that that was all he could feel. He made a mental note to thank Jack later.

Owen cursed and rushed towards the autopsy bay as Cathy's screams echoed through the hub. Every monitor in front of him had suddenly gone haywire, streaming impossible figures. By rights Cathy should be dead by now, if the figures were accurate. Running over to his patient, Owen failed to notice Jack and Ianto's agonised faces, and giving Cathexis an infusion of a powerful painkiller and a strong enough sedative, he knocked her out completely. He was relieved as her screams died instantly. Jack however, gave a loud yell of pain, as an unexpected flare of energy flew up his arm. Before he could act to stop the string of energy, pert of it continued it's course from his head, down his other arm to Ianto, who was still grasping his hand. Both of them gasped.

* * *

**Hey all, sorry this has taken a while, But the Good news is: the end is in sight! I have spent this entire week meticulously brainstorming and planning for the rest of this, so that I have the rest of it planned, and not just the final chapter. Hope you'll stick with it to the end ; )**

**Carrie**

**03/2009**


	11. Chapter 10

Cathexis

**Chapter 10**

Gwen and Tosh watched as the creature seemed to melt, fizzing and sparking as it shrank under the water onslaught and pooled on the carpet. The bubble finally collapsed in on itself and as soon as this water hit the creature, it burst into hot, white steam before it diminished into nothing. Both women were relieved and rushed over to the man, who had collapsed back into the cushions, soon after checking for himself the creature was really gone. Gwen left to go and make some tea for the man, while Tosh checked his vitals and attempted to calm him down. Gwen was not long talking to the man as he slowly drank his tea before he fell into a Retcon-induced slumber in his armchair; which is how Tosh and Gwen left him.

The pain intensified as part of the energy from Cathexis embedded itself painfully into Jack's mind. It weaved intricately amongst his many memories, as swirling colours and bright lights, flashed across his eyes. Part of the energy moved on, down Jack's arm, towards Ianto, leaving a burning ache in its golden wake. The energy which had travelled towards Ianto, twisted amongst the younger man's own memories, leaving a white hot pain burnt onto his mind. Ianto felt the emotions of, and saw memories that belonged to someone else- Cathexis. And it looked as if she had once been tortured. Involuntarily Ianto's fingers reached tentatively for Cathy's other hand, grasping it between his fingers, only to get no response whatsoever; the hand was ice cold. When the energy had finished its ruthless work, on each of the semi-conscious men, it vanished, and so did the connection between the two men and Cathexis. Ianto, too exhausted to even think under the strain he had recently been under, slipped into unconsciousness, once he realised he was no longer doing any shielding. Jack found that although he had lost contact with Cathy, he suddenly had an even closer bond with Ianto, and when the younger man fell into exhausted slumber, Jack let him just rest, pulling away slightly and withdrawing his mind, which was still connected with Ianto's.

Jack awoke with a gasp and looked around him. He was sitting in the Autopsy bay, Ianto half kneeling on the floor beside him, half lying draped across the bed. Next Jack spotted the figure of Cathy. She looked deathly pale, lying between the stark white sheets; Jack felt for a pulse. Eventually he found one, but it was very weak, and beating erratically beneath his fingers. "Owen!" Jack called sharply, flinching at the loudness of his own voice, "What's happening?" he continued, more quietly this time, his hearing was even more acute than usual.

"Hold on!"

There was the sound of frantically tapping keys on a keyboard, and then the unsteady, audio-beep of a heart monitor kicked in before Owen quickly made his way towards the prone figure of his patient. _Patients_, he corrected, looking at Ianto. The young man looked asleep, but he might not be. Owen deduced he must be fine if Jack hadn't mentioned anything, but would check him over in a moment. "I've put Cathexis under a medically induced coma, to help her brain to recover. I don't know what you've been doing with her- the brain activity monitors were off the scale earlier, but you need to prepare yourself: there may be permanent damage to the temporal cortex- the part of her brain which deals with memory."

Jack visibly paled, "Permanent? Like what?"

"Well, until she wakes up, I honestly can't say-"

"Tell me what you _do_ know Owen; what _could_ happen."

"Well… She _could_ wake up and have no memory of the last sixteen years of her life..."

"Oh god"

Jack sat down, "A- anything else?" he asked apprehensively.

"Well, the temporal lobe is also involved in emotion, sound and speech, so these could also be affected." Jack looked horrified and Owen hurried to reasure him, "But Jack, this is just worst case scenario; she could just as easily be fine! Hunky Dory."

"And when will we know?"

"I suggest we leave her in the coma for at least a few days, to give her the best chance and after that, until the sedative wears off, we have no way of knowing. I'm sorry."

_What have I done? _Jack thought, devastated; and that's when Ianto moaned.

"Ianto?" Jack looked across, "Are you okay?" subconsciously, his voice had dropped, and he was speaking even more quietly; seemingly to automatically know that was what the young man needed. Owen came over, dragging his office chair with him, and half lifted half dragged Ianto into it. Ianto moaned loudly, eyes still screwed shut and slumped sideways, leaning bonelessly against Jack, whose hands automatically wrapped protectively around him. Owen sighed before thrusting what looked like a thermometer into Ianto's slack mouth and raising his limp wrist in search of a pulse. Next Owen drew a blood sample and set it to scan.

"Geez, Ianto" Owen swore about thirty seconds later, "I think maybe you should take my advice for once and go and lie down and rest for a bit. Jack, help me move him somewhere he can lie down?"

"Why, what's wrong with him?"

"His pulse is way down low. Too low. And his temperature…" Owen removed the instrument from Ianto's unprotesting mouth, "As I thought; he's burning up Jack and needs _rest. _Doctors Orders." Jack nodded, and shifting Ianto slightly into his arms, picked him up, carrying him towards his office and the narrow bed below. It was much quieter down there and Jack would appreciate it as much as Ianto if his current headache was any indication. The stacato beep of Cathy's heart monitor, which had finally steadied, was starting to grate.

Once Jack had Ianto comfortably lying in the bed, he sent a request to Owen to get painkillers for them both. Owen replied he would, and that he wanted to check over Ianto once more, briefly. As Jack sat on the edge of the bed and watched Ianto sleep, he realised just how tired he was too. So, slipping out of his shirt, shoes and braces, he pulled Ianto against his chest, resting his back against the wall. When Owen descended a few minutes later, with two glasses of water and two sets of pills, it was to find both men peacefully asleep, wrapped round each other. Owen decided he could examine Ianto later, and left the glasses with the pills beside each glass and a note,

_Jack,_

_the pink ones are glucose, make sure Ianto takes one every hour and comes back for a blood test when they're finished- his blood sugars are low. The white ones are painkillers- the non-drowsy ones, since Ianto won't take anything else, make sure he get these and as much rest as possible_

_Owen_

Jack awoke with a start and was wide awake, but had no idea why. He lay silently for just a moment, before the sound of Ianto's heavy breathing reached his ears. For someone who was supposed to be asleep, he was breathing way too fast, Jack decided. He roled over and saw Ianto lying on his back, a light sweat across his brow as he moaned and shook his head uneasily. His eyelids fluttered in his sleep and Jack realised he was having a nightmare of some sort. "Ianto?" he whispered, placing a hand across Ianto's bare chest. Ianto flinched at the touch, but did not wake up; in fact the nightmare seemed to get worse, Ianto's face screwed up as if he was in agony and tears slid from beneath the lids of his closed eyes. His fists clenched the sheet tightly. Jaxk could feel his frantically bating heart beneath his hand and attempted to gently rouse Ianto.

"Yan, it's okay. I'm here, wake up, it's just a nightmare. Come on Yan, its not real, wake up for me? Please Yan, just wake up…" Jack stroked the damp hair from Ianto's forehead and continued his soothing mantra. Gradually Ianto's breathing slowed and calmed, before his watery blue eyes openned and met Jack's worried gaze above him. The tears continued to slide down his face and Ianto turned to Jack for comfort, burying his face in the white T-shirt he wore. "Hey, hey, what brought this on? It was just a nightmare Yan, you're alright." Jack felt Ianto's head shake beneath his hand which was currently holding Ianto's head to him and leaned back to look into the young man's face. "What?" asked Jack.

"It… It wasn'y just a nightmare, it really happened- to Cathy. She was tortured Jack! By- Oh-god-it-was-them-wasn't-it?"

"Woah Ianto slow down, what was them?" asked Jack, he had a suspicion he knew who _them_ was already.

"Torchwood London- they tortured Cathy. They nearly killed her Jack! And her parents! They died because of Torchwood-" and now Ianto had put what he had seen into words, he cried properly, too distraught to do anything more. The Torchwood he worked for had tortured and nearly killed a young girl, and left her scarred and alone in the world. No wonder Jack wanted nothing to do with them.

"I think we need to talk," said Jack, gently wiping the tears from Ianto's cheeks and handing him one of the glasses filled with water.

**

* * *

**

**19/03/2009**


	12. Chapter 10b

**12 Chapter 10b (Cathexis)**

**Let me know if you think this ought to be chapter 11?**

* * *

Quickly Ianto swallowed the pills Jack handed to him; he recognised the usual painkillers and thought that the pink ones looked like glucose. Usually Owen saved them exclusively for Jack, just after a resurrection; if _he_ was being given some, then his blood sugars must be low enough to be a cause for concern.

Next Ianto went to freshen up in Jack's private bathroom, before joining the older man, sitting up in his office. "You okay Yan?"

"Not really. My head still hurts a little and I seem to have gained a few extra memories which I did not have yesterday." Ianto sighed and dropped his gaze to the clasped hands in his lap.

"Me too. Can… can I ask what they're about?" Jack asked carefully, he didn't want to push Ianto, but it would be better for him to talk, if he was willing.

"I think they were her memories; from a long time ago. She was tortured Jack, taken away from her family by Torchwood… No _bought_ by Torchwood; and then tortured and experimented on, until she was close to death. Several times the memories end in darkness. Regularly it seems she passed out from the pain. And d'you know what I feel? Relief! She was just glad to be away from it all for that short while."

"Is that all you see?" asked Jack, his voice was strained with emotion, "All her painful memories?" Ianto nodded.

"There were good times too, Ianto. When she came here, I taught her how to control her ability. We used to these play games…"

_Cathexis stared at the map for a full minute; taking a mental picture of it, memorising every minute little detail. When Jack turned it over, she grinned, her grey eyes sparkling up at him. "See you in…" he clicked the stop watch. "Ten minutes?"_

"_Yup. See ya!" and with that Cathy dashed out of the hub, via the cog door, nearly knocking over a Torchwood operative just on their way in. "Sorry!" the cry was only just heard as the cog door rolled shut behind her, with its usual sirens blaring._

_The operative shook their head with a suppressed smile, "You're gonna have to keep an eye on that one Jack!" Jack just laughed, before accessing the CCTV footage from around the city, tracking Cathy's progress and making sure she was alright._

'I hope you're not cheating Jack Harkness!'

_He laughed out loud before sending a message back, _'whatever gave you that idea Cath?' _He checked the stopwatch, he still had five minutes. Enough time to have a quick cup of coffee before heading out he decided. He was draining the last dregs in the cup when a familiar sensation on the edge of his consciousness made him close his eyes, a slight smile creasing his handsome features. _

"_Is it that pub again, Jack?" Called the operative who had nearly been run over,from across the Hub, "Dunno what her obsession is with that place anyway."_

"_Nope, it's the park this time, though she won't tell me exactly where;" replied Jack, putting on his greatcoat, _

"_Check the trees! You know she has a thing for heights. A bit like you really I s'pose." Jack smiled knowingly and exited the same way Cathy had ten minutes before._

"…She was very good at hide and seek that girl, though on that particular day, she gave it away by giggling. I found her up a tree alright- not quite out of reach, hanging upside down!" Jack smiled at the memory.

_Jack paused under the tree, and made a point of looking everywhere but up, until Cathy's giggles floated through the air above him. He reached up and tickled her under the arms, before catching her as she fell, still giggling into his waiting arms._

"So," said Jack, coming out of his reverie and focusing back on Ianto, "where'd you learn to shield yourself?"

"I taught myself, actually." Ianto decided not to elaborate; unless Jack asked him directly, that is.

"Really?"

"Er, Yes. Why?"

"Well, it's very unusual to be as good as you are at shielding, when you've taught yourself. It must be another natural talent," Jack said, his eyes sparkling mischievously, "We should work to strengthen and improve it." Ianto raised a sceptical eyebrow.

"No, really. It would be useful with a job like Torchwood."

"Will I be able to help people like Cathy with it?"

"Yup" Jack was popping the 'p' again. Ianto wasn't sure where he got that from.

Several hours later both men emmerged, unheard from Jack's office and stood together leaning on the railings. They were slightly tired from the work they had been doing, but not overly so- Jack hadn't wanted to much with Ianto so soon. There was a comfortable silence between them, as they watched business as usual at the Hub. Gwen was reading police reports, while busy talking on her mobile. Owen was playing computer games, checking ocasionally on his patient, and Tosh was analysing the scans she had taken of the Atama'co Igntiacus, before it had 'melted' on the carpet in front of her and Gwen.

Suddenly the monitors connected to Cathexis went haywire, causing everyone but Owen to stop what they were doing. Owen immediately rushed upto his patient cursing loudly. "No no no no, not yet!" he yelled, frantically checking the monitors.

It took Jack but a moment to start heading for the autopsy bay himself. In his haste he tripped at the foot of the stairs and nearly fell flat on his face, but Ianto, who was right behind him, managed to break the fall and they were both heading for the railings. "What's going on Owen?" Jack asked quickly.

"She's waking up- her brain activity's up and her heartrate and breathing are right up there."

"What does that mean for her recovery?"

"Wasn't she supposed to stay unconscious?" Gwen asked, catching the tail end of the conversation and adding her bit.

"Yes! She's supposed to be out for at least another few days to alow the swelling to go down. If she wakes up now there could be permanent damage!" Owen was almost frantic.

* * *

**Next bit coming soon folks! I'm not sure if this should be a separate chapter or not… we'll see. Let me know your opinion!**

**Carrie ; )**

**25/03/2009**


	13. Chapter 11

**13 Chapter 11 (Cathexis)**

Okay, so this took me a little longer than expected, but the good news is: I've got the next, final part written too, so they'll barely be a wait for that one- and I may post it sooner, if I get enough requests…

I feel a sort of anti-climax now, it's all finished! What am I going to do?

* * *

The last few days had been traumatic for all of the team, but mostly Owen, Jack and Ianto. Owen was berating himself for getting the sedative dosage wrong and Jack was blaming himself for ruining Cathy's life. Now he had to come to terms with the fact that he was directly responsible for Cathy's memory loss. Ianto on the other hand also blamed himself, but was aware that due to his inexperience, he couldn't really blame himself- Jack would simply take the blame for him.

It was after Jack had shut himself up in his office, refusing to speak to anyone and picking fights with whoever called that Ianto decided he had to do something. So getting Jack and himself a fresh afternoon coffee, he made his way up to Jack's office. The older man was currently going through the motions of reading a UNIT report when Ianto entered, but his eyes were not following the lines of text, so Ianto knew he wasn't really reading. He placed the mug on Jack's desk and sat down himself opposite, waiting.

Gwen watched the proceedings between Ianto and Jack. There was very little she could tell watching them, because neither man used much in the way of body language, but they were talking and Jack didn't seem to resent Ianto's presence, which was a good thing. She went back to the report she was working on, occasionally glancing across, but it was a long while before anything happened. Gradually Gwen forgot the pair and the next time she looked up, they were leaning on the railing outside Jack's office in silence.

The companionable silence which had fallen between Ianto and Jack, was at length broken by a quiet question from Ianto. "What will happen to her?" He asked softly, watching Cathy, who was currently asleep in the autopsy bay. They had talked a lot about what happened to Cathy before she came to Cardiff, and shared their memories of her life before and after she met Jack. Eventually, after exploring all the angles of the Atama'co Igntiacus case, Ianto had managed to persuade Jack that there was no other way they could have stopped the foul creature and if they had not stopped it, then many more innocent people would have died.

"What will happen to her?" repeated Jack, pondering the answer, "Torchwood will continue to support her, as it has done all her life. And, if she ever learns to support herself, without our help and gets to live a normal life, without all the painful memories, so be it. She deserves that at least I guess." Jack replied, also watching the young girl. Ianto could hear in Jack's tone that he had begun to forgive himself, but he could also see the wistful expression that followed. Jack would miss the easy relationship Cathy and he had had with each other, but he felt it would be best not to get involved again with her at this stage. Besides, they no longer had anything in common- she was just an ordinary girl now and wasn't interested in him. With a heavy sigh Jack watched her sadly from his elevated perspective, leaning on the guard rail round the raised part of the hub. Ianto made a mental note that when this was all over, he would arrange for the pair to get to know each other again.

Cathexis had awoken many hours later to an empty hub and was looking around the hub as if for the first time again. At least that's what she had heard this place was called. When she asked, "Torchwood" was the only reply Owen gave. She liked Owen, he was a nice doctor, even if he did make her stay in bed for several days after she woke up… that had been boring. Eventually it had been Jack who had rescued her and made Owen release her from full bed rest, allowing her to wonder around the autopsy bay in her socks and play games on Owen's Gameboy. Jack seemed to be the boss of this place, and although Owen wasn't happy, he had been forced to make the compromise. Cathexis wasn't sure about Jack, he was nice enough to everyone else, and he'd been nice about letting her wander around the hub a little, but whenever he was talking to her he was always distant, almost cold. Like he would rather not talk to her.

Owen said it was because he had a stick up his arse, but Tosh, who only spoke to her occasionally, while subtly running scans, had said the pair of them had been very close friends before she forgot everything. Cathy wasn't sure about that- what did they even have in common? Anyway, she was exploring the hub now. According to a note they had left, Jack and Ianto had gone "weevil hunting", whatever that meant and the rest of the team had gone home earlier.

Cathy was surprised she had been left alone in the hub actually, but she soon gathered that there was little harm she could actually do anyway; all the computers were password protected and, unless she could guess the security codes, the passages which led to the archives and vaults were secure as well. Cathy was just considering making a tea for herself when the alarm sounded and Jack walked in, "How'd the weevil hunting go?" Cathy called from across the room, Jack just shrugged and said it was dead. He started to unzip his jacket, before seeming to think twice- Not before Cathy noticed the blood though. "A… Are you alright?" she asked anxiously, coming a little closer. His shirt was shredded like a terrier had wrestled with it and spattered in dark crimson blood. Cathy wasn't sure about how much blood there really was, because Jack's greatcoat, and a bomber jacket beneath concealed it, but surely there was enough to at least make the man feel light-headed?

"Yeah, 'm fine," Jack muttered, heading straight for his office. He wasn't limping or staggering around so she took him to his word and left him alone. Perhaps the blood had been from the dead weevil thing? He broke into her thoughts; "I'll be taking you to Ianto's in twenty minutes, just let me shower and change out of this." He called over his shoulder, not turning round. Cathy agreed and went back to the little kitchen to make her tea.

Half an hour later Jack pulled up in front of Ianto's well kept house. Cathexis stepped out of the SUV as soon as the vehicle drew to a stop, wanting to get out of the suppressing space. Conversation between the pair of them had seemed awkward and forced, with them eventually falling silent. It wasn't that Jack didn't try to talk, it's just that they had little in common and even less to talk about now that she had no memory. Jack stayed in the vehicle for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He was finding it difficult to be around Cathy now, since she wasn't the same Cathy who had spent almost a year under his wing. He locked the SUV and entered Ianto's house.

"Are you staying for dinner, Jack?" asked Ianto, once Jack had joined them in the kitchen. At the older man's nod, Ianto took out a third plate and served dinner. Jack organised two glasses of water for himself and Cathy, and filled a glass with white wine for Ianto, placing each of them on the table where Ianto was just putting the plates. Cathy held back from taking a seat, allowing the two to take their 'usual seats', assuming they had done this before. She was right, but she also knew that neither of them was used to visitors- if the awkward silences were anything to go by. They couldn't talk about work because it was 'classified'.

Eventually the meal was over and Jack announced he had to get back. They made arrangements for Ianto to drive Cathy in later on the next morning, when Owen would be in to examine her once more. Jack gave Ianto a quick kiss on the lips which could have escalated if Cathexis had not been standing awkwardly a few feet away, instead they pulled away reluctantly, but not before Jack managed another quick peck. He grinned and Ianto rolled his eyes before pushing Jack out of the door.

After Owen had the results of his examination, he made his way up to Jack's office, as requested, shutting the glass door firmly behind him. The message was clear: Do not disturb unless the world is ending. Jack placed his pen carefully on the table and looked up. "She's clear, medically speaking, but Jack- surely we should discuss this with her?"

"It's not up to her whether or not she remembers Torchwood, Owen and you know as well as I do that we could never look after here, she needs people who can help her deal with memory loss and keep an eye on her. We can't do that at Torchwood, Owen." The doctor nodded.

"I get how she can't stay here, but good luck convincing Gwen." Owen said arms raised defensively.

As soon as Gwen found out what was going on, she stormed up to Jack's office like a tidal wave. At first Jack remained seated, still 'reading' the report in front of him, but Gwen knew him well enough and just stood there seething until "Jack Harkness put your bloody pen down and talk to me!" Jack looked up, eyebrows raised, he didn't put his pen down, neither did he say anything, but he did put down the report with a sigh.

"How could you consider putting her in an Institute, where she won't know anyone? Your friend?"

"She'll be well looked after, Gwen. Better than anything we can offer her here-"

"And you're just gonna wipe her memory of the last few days as well?" Gwen interrupted, "They're the only memories she has Jack! It's not like she's learned anything about Torchwood these last few days that she can make sense of anyway. Or are you too ashamed about the way you've treated her? Because you, of all people, could have been a little more understanding, considering you put her in this position in the first place!" Gwen stopped. She knew she'd gone too far, and if she didn't, Jack's expression made it abundantly clear. She swallowed, taking a small step back. Jack's reply was deadly quiet, with a calm that terrified her.

"She will going Gwen. And the decision is not up for negotiation."

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Phew! That last bit was fun to write. It took me a while to get into the right mindset, and I did abandon it for a while, but hopefully I pulled it off successfully? Let me know what you think. ; ) Carrie


	14. Epilogue

**14 Chapter 12 Epilogue (Cathexis)**

**Hey guys, **I hope this rounds everything up… lord knows it's taken me long enough to get here! Strangely enough, this practically wrote itself really. And it was completed before the last chapter (11) which for me at least is unusual! I hope it's okay…!

* * *

Ten years later, Jack Harkness slipped quietly into the back of a courtroom to watch the proceedings. A feisty lawyer, with grey eyes, and long brown hair twisted into an elegant knot on top of her head, was just sitting down. She glanced up, as if sensing she was being watched. Seeing him, a frown creased her brow, for a brief moment before she seemed to dismiss him and focus back on the case at hand.

When the judge's gavel finally fell on a successful hearing, Jack waited a moment, watching Cathy as she shook hands with her happy clients and accepted the congratulations of her peers. One man, in a dark suit spoke to her for a moment, before at her insistence, reluctantly left. It was only then, as she was gathering her case notes together, in a nearly empty courtroom, that Jack made his way over to her. "Cathy?" She looked up.

"Hello, Jack. I'm glad you could come." She smiled briefly, before leading the way from the courtroom, smiling again as Jack opened the door for her. Once outside Jack offered her his arm, which she took, allowing him to lead the way, as she looked carefully around her. It didn't take long for the pair to catch up and order lunch in a nearby restaurant. Jack, aware that he may be called away at any moment asked the question they had yet to come to. "So, what did you want to meet me for?"

"It's about the weekly payments that have been going into an account, which is apparently mine, since the account was opened." Cathy started, "I can't find out anything about them except that they are from 'Torchwood'." Jack nodded.

"Is there a problem with them?" He asked.

"No, it's just- What are they for? I don't need charity money, I'm an independent woman now."

"Well, they were arranged for you as a sort of… pay-back. If you like. Torchwood owes you a debt, which can never be repaid. The money was to support you for as long as necessary. A sort of compensation scheme, arranged by my boss. But if you're happily living on your own two feet, I can arrange for the payments to stop."

"I would prefer that, I think. As far as I am concerned Torchwood owes me nothing that I can remember, so their debt is forgotten; forgiven." Jack nodded, a slight shadow crossing his features at the mention of Cathy's lost memory. The young woman didn't seem to notice however, simply glancing out the window.

The moment was interrupted by Jack's mobile going off and buzzing across the table. He smiled apologetically and answered it, "What's up Ianto?" There was a long pause before Jack replied, "Yeah okay, I'll meet you there… Yes, I have… Okay. ...Will do. Bye." Jack looked up, "I've gotta go- emergency in a shopping mall. Ianto says hi though." he added before getting up. Cathy nodded understandingly and stood up herself, allowing Jack to hug her briefly, before making his way out of the restaurant, greatcoat swirling behind him, oblivious to the stares he attracted from men and women alike.

Cathy watched him go for a moment, feeling like she ought to know him better than she did, but not having any significant memories about him to explain the feeling. She just felt happy and comfortable in his company now, as well as safe. She sighed and picked up her belongings, before attempting to pay for the bill, which she found was already paid in advance to a Torchwood tab. She called a taxi on her mobile to take her back to the office.

**Finis**

**A big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this and a special thank you to those of you who have reviewed. Especially cjh4ever who has reviewed every chapter as she went along- I hope I've succeeded in answering your questions. ; ) Carrie**

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**Do Not read unless you're really desperate for a sequel!**

_I've not got anything planned or written, but there is a _possibility,_ maybe,__ for a maybe sequel..._

Just as she was exiting the restaurant Cathexis looked across the street to where a crowd was starting to gather. She froze when she recognised the slumped figure of- _Jack Harkness _in the centre of the gathering crowd_._

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